These are my personal notes and opinions and do not represent the views or opinions of the other volunteers on the holiday, Kinashibetsu Wetland Trust, Kushiro Volunteer International Exchange Association or the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
The photographs are of medium quality to save time loading the pages, if you require a high quality version of a photograph please e mail .
AIMS OF THE CONSERVATION HOLIDAY.
1 To help the improvement of the Kinashibetsu area in order to attract more wildlife, and preserve the existing habitats.
2 to increase awareness of volunteering opportunities in Japan
3 To experience the culture of Japan and the Japanese people.
4 To have a really enjoyable holiday.
Kinashibetsu Conservation Area historical notes.
30 years ago permission was given to extract sand removal for roads in the area. This started the process of erosion of the area. They were allowed to remove sand for 3 years. The area was also heavily fished depleting the stocks.
Genshi (the instigator of conservation work at Chokubestu) attended a Ramsar convention meeting in Kushiro and met the National Trust of Japan. He asked for agreement and permission to take a working camp in the area. This would increase the profile of the Kinashibetsu area. This would protect the area from forest clearances. Permission is not required for clearances of less than 1 hectare.
THE CONSERVATION WORK UNDERTAKEN
Building a traditional stock enclosure fence approx 80 metres in length. Damming an old drainage ditch in order to return a boggy area to a wetland area. Adjacent to the farm there is a derelict farm where an attempt was made to drain the marsh for cattle about 30 years ago. Genshi's vision is to return this area to a marshland to encourage the return of wildlife. We removed iron fence posts and barbed wire. Native tree planting along a track to provide a corridor for wildlife to cross an open area between two wooded areas. Signposting a footpath alongside a reed bed in the wetland area.
BIRDLIFE
Although there were not many opportunities for birdwatching the following were noted.
spot billed duck, black kite, white tailed sea eagle, little ringed plover, common snipe, lesser black backed gull , swift, greater spotted woodpecker, swallow, pied wagtail, stonechat, reed warbler , brown shrike, oriental greenfinch , jungle crow.
WEATHER
The weather was a total mixed bag. One day was cloudy with rain the next day fine, hot and bright. The area is affected by sea breezes bringing cold air on to the land forming fog. Kushiro is well known for its foggy days.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
We visited a Shinto temple. On several occasions we met with people from the Kushiro Volunteer International Exchange Association. I had not read the small print in the holiday brochure , on several occasions, usually unannounced we would find ourselves with them. They made us feel welcome and I appreciated the opportunity to meet socially with local people and practice my Japanese. We visited a Buddhist temple and took part in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. One afternoon we were treated to a performance of native songs and dances by the Ainu people of Shiranuka. This included a lesson in the Ainu language! These activities expressed their unity with their surroundings. See photographs. We visited a Karaoke bar for an evening of light entertainment! A Pachinko parlour in Kushiro city was an experience to see the players attempt to flip ball bearings into slots to win. We experienced several types of Japanese restaurants, noodle, sushi etc. As a vegetarian this was sometimes difficult, but overall there were few problems. (I did eat some fish during the trip).
PRESENTATIONS AND TALKS
Presentation on work of Kinashibetsu Wetland Trust by and the hopes of Genshi for the future of the farm.
Presentation and slide show of BTCV conservation work in UK by Jo.
Presentation on the Blakiston Fish Owl conservation of habitat program by the East Hokkaido Regional Office for Nature Conservation. The Blakiston fish owl is a large owl 70 cm tall weighing 4 kg. They used to inhabit all over Hokkaido. Today only about 100 live mainly in East Hokkaido. The species is one of the highly endangered species in Japan.
VISITS TO EXPLORE THE NATURAL WONDERS OF EAST HOKKAIDO
We visited Akan National Park and attempted to climb Mount Akan but were defeated by the weather. We saw many warnings about bears but did not see any.
We visited the Kushiro Shitsugen Wetland area (a Ramsar site)
The Kushiro Crane Sanctuary gave us close up views of the Japanese Crane.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ATTITUDES TO CONSERVATION IN JAPAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Japan with approximately twice the population of the UK and a slightly larger land area has managed somehow to resist the temptation to develop all its land and Hokkaido is a well wooded island with a variety of habitats . Hokkaido is 25 percent of the landspace of Japan with 5% of the population . Some of this is primary forest (never cut down) and with a population of 2000 brown bears and there are large parts of the country with few people. This plan to limit development by the government leaves Hokkaido as a large national park. In the UK there has been an almost total removal of primary forest with subsequent loss of species and habitat. The population is spread out over a greater percentage of the land. In Japan due to government policy there is less controversial development and less pressure on the land. In Japan the working week is longer than the UK and people do not have the free time to devote to conservation work. In the UK early retirement and more free time allow people to join groups such as the BTCV, The Wildlife Trusts etc. In the UK at the turn of the 20th century with so much destruction of habitat and species concerned individuals formed organisations such as the National Trust, RSPB to try to limit indiscriminate development and conserve areas for wildlife. The government and local councils rely more and more on local "cheap volunteers" to carry out tasks that due to budget restraints would not be carried out. Promotion of tourism in Areas Of Outstanding National Beauty is a big income generator. Erosion is a serious problem in the UK and much work is undertaken to manage the vast numbers of people undertaking leisure activities. In Japan things are a lot more organised and "regulated" people are "encouraged to visit certain areas leaving vast areas untouched. This can be seen in the small number of footpaths and the lack of development in the National Parks.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF THE HOLIDAY
Conclusion
1) Improvements were made to the area, the area is particularly rich in birdlife with a varied habitat. The returning of the old derelict farm to a wetland is well under way.
2) The people we met were impressed that we had travelled from the UK to undertake voluntary work. With the totally different social structure I don't think we had a great influence on volunteering.
3) We enjoyed so many activities, but the friendliness of the people we met stands out.
4) Would I go back to Japan YES, definitely.